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Chapter 13

Ethnic, Racial, and Religious Subcultures

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR, 9eMichael R. Solomon

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Chapter Objectives

When you finish this chapter, you should understand why:

• Additional influences come from our identification with microcultures that reflect a shared interest in some organization or activity.

• Our memberships in ethnic, racial, and religious subcultures often play a big role in guiding our consumption behaviors.

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Chapter Objectives (continued)

• Many marketing messages appeal to ethnic and racial identity.

• African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans are the three most important ethnic/racial subcultures in the United States.

• Marketers increasingly use religious and spiritual themes when they talk to consumers.

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Subcultures, Microcultures, and Consumer Identity

• Consumers’ lifestyles are affected by group membership within the society-at-large

• Subcultures of age, race/ethnicity, place of residence

• Microcultures share a strong identification with an activity or art form

• Have own unique set of norms, vocabulary, and product insignias

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Ethnic and Racial Subcultures

• An ethnic subculture is a self-perpetuating group of consumers who share common cultural or genetic ties where both its members and others recognize it as a distinct category.

• In countries like Japan, ethnicity is synonymous with the dominant culture because most citizens claim the same cultural ties.

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Ethnicity and Marketing Strategies

• Subcultural memberships help shape people’s needs/wants

• Minorities find an advertising spokesperson from their own group more trustworthy

• Ethnic subculture affects level/type of media exposure, food/apparel preferences, political behavior, leisure activities, willingness to try new products

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The Context of Culture

High-Context

Low-Context

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Is Ethnicity a Moving Target?

• Defining/targeting an ethnic group is not always so easy (“melting pot” society)

• Deethnicization occurs when a product we associate with a specific ethnic group detaches itself from its roots and appeals to other groups as well

• Example: bagels

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Figure 13.1 America’s Newest Markets

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Discussion

• Locate current examples of marketing stimuli that depend on an ethnic or religious stereotype to communicate a message.

• How effective are these appeals?

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What is Acculturation?

• Acculturation is the process of movement and adaptation to one country’s cultural environment by a person from another country.

• Acculturation occurs, at least in part, with the influence of acculturation agents

• Family

• Friends

• Church organizations

• Media

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The Progressive Learning Model

• Assumes that people gradually learn a new culture as they increasingly come into contact with it

• When people acculturate they will blend their original culture and the new one

• Consumers who retain much of their original ethnic identity differ from those who assimilate

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Figure 13.2 A Model of Consumer Acculturation

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Discussion

• Locate one or more consumers (perhaps family members) who have emigrated from another country.

• How did they adapt to their host culture?

• In particular, what changes did they make in their consumption practices over time?

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The “Big Three” American Subcultures

• African Americans

• Hispanic Americans

• Asian Americans

• Hispanic population is now the largest ethnic subculture (12.5%)

• Asian Americans (3.6%) are the fastest-growing racial group (due to immigration)

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African Americans

• Overall spending patterns of blacks and whites are roughly similar

• Household income and educational levels rising for African Americans

• Differences in consumption behaviors subtle but important

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Hispanic Americans

• “Hispanic” = many different backgrounds

• Hispanics are:

• Brand loyal

• Highly concentrated geographically by country of origin (easy to reach)

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Distinguishing Characteristics of the Hispanic Market

• Looking for spirituality, stronger family ties, and more color in their lives

• Large family size of Hispanic market

• Spend more on groceries

• Shopping is a family affair

• Regard clothing children well as matter of pride

• Convenience/saving time is not important to Hispanic homemaker

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Asian Americans

• Fastest-growing group

• Most affluent, best educated

• Most likely to hold technology-related jobs

• Most brand-conscious but least brand loyal

• Made up of culturally diverse subgroups that speak many different languages/dialects

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Religious Subcultures and Product Demand

• Religious themes can spill over into everyday consumption

• “Cult products”

• Marketing opportunity among religious subcultures due to dress and food requirements

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Discussion

• Should members of a religious group adapt marketing techniques that manufacturers customarily use to increase market share for their products? Why or why not?

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The Born-Again Boom

• Born-Again Christians are those who follow literal interpretations of the Bible and who acknowledge being born again through belief in Jesus

• Fastest-growing religious affiliations in United States

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Discussion

• Born-again Christian groups have been instrumental in organizing boycotts of products advertised on shows they find objectionable, especially those they feel undermine family values.

• Do religious groups have a right or a responsibility to dictate what advertising a network should carry?

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Chapter Summary

• People share an identification with microcultures as well as subcultures and cultures.

• Membership in ethnic, racial, and religious subcultures plays a role in our consumption decisions.

• African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans are the three most important ethnic/racial subcultures in the U.S.